1) First step was to simply spray paint the canvas. I used Rustoleum's brown since it was already in my garage.

2) While the canvas is drying, it's time to work on whip out the matchbooks & scrapbook paper. Cut strips of the paper, wrap around each matchbook and seal the back with glue or tape.

3) Decorate the front of each wrapped matchbook with number stickers for each of the first 24 days of the month.

4) Once the canvas is dry-figure out how you want to arrange each the matchbooks ( I went for a Christmas tree design) and start applying the velcro tabs onto both the canvas & back of the matchbooks.

5) That's pretty much it-once it's complete you can insert small gifts or notes for every day leading up to Christmas! Today's special message revealed that we'd be having breakfast for dinner which is one of my oldest son's favorite things!!

Most of our advent days are filled with fun (and free) family activities like hopping in the car to check out Christmas lights, decorating cookies, making ornaments/crafts, watching Polar Express, reading a fun Christmas story, enjoying some hot cocoa (with extra whipped cream)....and the list goes on!!!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

I've been obsessed with finding the perfect chair for my little guy's room. I wanted something cute and comfy-the perfect little chair for grabbing a book or just cuddling with one of his plushy, stuffed friends.

But then reality set in (in the form of a $100 plus price tag)! So I knew I had to find another option! Armed with my inspiration photo below-I was up for the challenge of re-creating this look for less!!
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Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair

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During a trip to Tuesday Morning, I spotted this adorable little chair. Well let's be honest....it really wasn't so adorable at first glance. The animal print is just a wee bit much for my taste-but the chair had potential. Super comfy, well made, plus it's a combo chair/rocker-adorable. It was on Clearance for just $35 plus an additional 50% off-so I scored it for $17.

I found the perfect blue twill fabric at Garden Ridge. Also on Clearance-25 cents for 2 yards!!! I grabbed every decent fabric they had and still managed to spend just under $2. Amazing!!

This was my very first slipcover and despite most blogs making it look oh so easy-it was a lot of work and it didn't turn out as perfectly as I'd hoped.

I was actually a bit disappointed with how mine turned out, but my disappointment faded when my little guy jumped into his cool new chair the next morning!! He was sooo excited!!

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He likes it, he really likes it!!!

His Monkeys are loving his new chair too!

I honestly thought long and hard before writing this post because often times when you look at blogs people write about their triumphs versus their attempts. You generally see perfectly decorated spaces or beautifully crafted projects.

My main reason for sharing is because I think so many of us Moms can agree that we try so hard to be perfect when the quest for perfection only sets us up for disappointments. Believe it or not, kids don't need much and they definitely aren't judging us as hard as we tend to judge ourselves. The look on my son's face when he saw his new chair was just priceless. He didn't notice the flaws-he was just HAPPY!!

Monday, November 14, 2011

The tweener stage generally refers to middle school aged children, but in this case it applies to my 18 month old son. He's a bit of a tweener in my eyes because he's no longer a baby in need of a nursery, but he's not quite ready for his toddler bed & boy room.

The thought of him in a toddler bed is just way too much freedom for my busy body!! I've been a bit bored with his room lately and decided to make some changes.

Here's a before shot of his room:

And here's Kolt's new & improved bedroom....

PAINT:
The biggest change we made is adding a fresh coat of paint. It's the most gorgeous and soothing shade of taupey brown-Behr Antiqued Leather. It's so nice to have some color on his walls-and best of all, the gallon of paint was just $20!! Behr just may be my new fave paint brand!!

BEDDING:During my Goodwilling trips, I've scored a few more key pieces that were used in his makeover. First up-a Pottery Barn star quilt that I found for just $3. It was marked $5.99, plus it was another 50% off. Gotta love Super Saturdays!! This quilt would've retailed for well over $50 so this was a major score.

I also picked up the new sheets during a Super Saturday shopping spree. The entire brand new 4-piece Circo toddler bedding set was just $7.50!! I wasn't crazy about the comforter that came in the set, but the sheets alone were worth the purchase price!!

DECOR:

I'm all for decorating on the cheap-especially in kid's rooms.

For starters, I anchored the wall behind his crib Added some DIY canvas art frames!! Such an easy peasy way to dress up your walls. Also, spray painted an old frame that I had and added a star for an extra special touch.

To anchor the wall behind his crib, I used a star picture that was hanging in our Americana Guest room. I also re-used letters to spell out his name. Love the way it looks.

Used cardboard letters and a star emblem purchased at Hobby Lobby to spell out his name!

Love DIY Canvas Art! Such a cheap and easy way to personalize your walls!

Wish Upon a Star art-Kohls, Piggy bank-gift & Star lamp-Goodwill $5.

Kolt's changing table & other goodies!

Love his little toy basket!

I reused frames and just created easy DIY art using Publisher. You can probably use Word too.

Old Smokey loves his cozy updated space!

Easy DIY art inserted into frames!

View from the hallway door!

Love the simple canvas art pics!!

Another view of his room!

Kolt's closet!

Wasn't quite ready to get rid of his crib mobile-so I hung it in his closet!

Don't you just love decorating? Especially decorating on the cheap!? This makeover rang in at less than $50 since I repurposed a lot of items from other rooms, shopped Goodwill and was able to use just a gallon of paint!!